Pending a successful background check and contract negotiations, the Select Board voted unanimously to appoint Shane C. Smith as chief of the Belmont Police Department.
“He did a really solid job; he spoke directly and addressed our questions,” said Select Board Chair Matt Taylor. “He has a lot of strong experience relative to our community. I thought he had particularly good answers around recruiting and retention. . . .I think he brings, as a former union president, a well-rounded perspective.”
According to Taylor, Smith was one of 19 applications for the chief position. Eight of those candidates were selected to interview with the Police Chief Screening Committee. Six of the eight went through with the interviews; four were advanced to an assessment center.
“The assessment center is a … rigorous kind of interactive and performance-based interview, using simulated and hypothetical situations, handling back office operations, [and] tactical, management, and community meetings,” Taylor said.
The three candidates put forward as finalists to be interviewed by the Select Board last week were Smith, currently the deputy chief of the Salem, New Hampshire, police department; Watertown Police Capt. Daniel S. Unsworth; and Southbridge Police Chief Shane D. Woodson. All three were interviewed publicly by the Select Board on Friday, Feb. 20.
“The work the Screening Committee did means every one of these candidates is qualified and exceptional at the policing work,” Select Board member Taylor Yates said before interviews began. “It is not lost on me that no internal candidate made it to this step. Ideally, we want to have a department where there’s at least one candidate that makes it to that step.”
“I liked all of them. All of them had relevant knowledge and strengths,” said Select Board member Elizabeth Dionne. “All of them had clear qualifications and strengths.”
It was Smith, however, who rose to the top.
Smith, who has served on the Salem Police Department for just over 24 years, graduated from the University of Massachusetts Lowell with a degree in criminal justice and a minor in psychology; later, he earned a master’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Oklahoma. He has also served as a use-of-force instructor and was part of the SWAT team for a New Hampshire-based team similar to the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC). He received training from the FBI National Academy Associates in Quantico, Virginia.
After climbing the department ranks, Smith has been the deputy chief in Salem for about six years and is an adjunct professor at Southern New Hampshire University. He’s married with three kids.
“My strongest asset is the relationships I’ve developed in Salem; it’s the same thing I’m going to do here,” he told the Select Board.
In addition to his policing experience, Smith impressed the board with his familiarity with the town and his acknowledgment of public statements from members of the department who advocated for an internal candidate over an external one. Smith talked about building trust with his staff and emphasized a leadership style that rewards good work and offers correction or mentorship when a mistake is made.
With budget season underway, the Select Board also appreciated that Smith’s experience would allow him to “hit the ground running.”
The search for a new police chief followed the resignation in August of Police Chief James MacIsaac, who had been with the department in various roles since 1990. The Select Board appointed then-Assistant Police Chief Mark Hurley as the interim chief. Hurley’s appointment was effective Aug. 25.
In October, John Parow of John Parow Consulting & Associates was selected from the two bids received by the town. The Select Board agreed to a contract of $11,800, making Parow’s firm the low bidder. The one competitor, Municipal Resources Inc. (MRI), submitted a $13,700 bid.
Six people representing Belmont’s different demographics, plus an area police chief, were named late last year to serve on the screening committee.
